1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an integrated system of collecting, containing, transferring, and processing wastes, which is economically efficient and environmentally friendly. In one embodiment, the integrated waste containment and processing system of the present invention also includes compiling, analyzing and ultimately utilizing data relating to the collection and processing of the wastes that are useful and beneficial to either or both of the waste generator and processor.
2. Background
Traditionally, landfills and incinerators are used to dispose of solid wastes. Both of these systems, however, have many limitations and problems. In addition to space limitations, there is increased public concern about gaseous emissions from hazardous and municipal landfills and the possibility of contamination of groundwater. The production of large quantities of gaseous emissions from incinerator systems could also result in the need for costly air pollution control systems in an attempt to decrease emissions levels to comply with requirements imposed by regulatory agencies. The potential for leaching of medical, infectious wastes including pathogenic agents to the environment also poses a significant threat to the general public safety. It was therefore desirable to develop a medical/infectious waste disposal system and process which could insure substantial elimination of the possibility of the medical/infectious waste being leached to the environment, and which could be used in the medical/infectious waste treatment industry in a practical, safe and economically efficient manner.
To overcome the problems associated with landfills and incinerators, attempts have been made to utilize plasma arcs to destroy toxic wastes. Such systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,280,757, 4,644,877, and 4,431,612, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by this reference. There has been also developed a waste converting system that uses combinations of independently controllable plasma arcs and joule-heating in a melter. Such systems, also known as PEM (Plasma Enhanced Melters), are generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,560 and its related family of patents, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by this reference.
While both the plasma arc systems and PEM systems provide certain advantages over the traditional waste disposal systems such as landfills or incinerators, e.g., having the ability to convert wastes to useful syngas and other recyclable products, there existed a need for further improvement. While technological aspects of the PEM system have been described and developed, prior to the invention disclosed and claimed herein, there was no integrated waste collection and disposal working process which could offer the plasma arc or PEM systems to the waste generators and processors as an efficient, safe and economically feasible system of waste disposal. In addition, there was no existing waste disposal system that complies with the laws and regulations that govern the collection and disposal of medical/infectious wastes. For example, despite existing regulations, medical/infectious wastes are currently being processed without using containers that meet the required specifications of U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the United Nations.
It was therefore desirable to have an integrated waste collection and processing system and process which is efficient, cost effective, and compliant with governmental regulations to enable both the waste generators and processors to utilize useful waste disposal systems such as the PEM system.
The process of the present invention relates to an integrated and streamlined system and method for collecting, containing and processing different types of wastes including solid and hazardous, asbestos, medical/infectious, pharmaceutical, radioactive, crematory and Other Potentially Infectious Material (OPIM) wastes, etc. The integrated waste containment and processing system of the present invention includes up to three major components: (1) waste collection and containment; (2) treatment and processing of the wastes; and, in one embodiment; (3) collection, compilation and utilization of data relating to the collected wastes and the processing of the waste. The combination of these components provides an economically efficient solution for collecting and treating wastes and in some embodiments, utilizes selected portions of the collected data in an operationally useful manner both for the waste generator and processor.
First, the present system provides a method of collecting and containing the wastes in accordance with the regulatory governmental requirements and also in a practical and economically feasible manner which was not achieved in the art prior to the present inventions. Specially designed containers are provided at the waste generation sites to allow for convenient and efficient, collection and initial containment of the waste. According to the invention, these containers are designed to meet or exceed the specifications required by the United States government, DOT, and the United Nations for containing and transporting certain types of waste collected. The containers are provided to the waste generators with pre-classified designations that indicate the appropriate types of wastes to be placed in the containers. The containers are designed to meet quality specifications to minimize, and, ideally, substantially eliminate leakage of any component of the waste to the environment. As an added precaution, in one embodiment, the transportation vehicles are also equipped with a containment section which is designed to substantially prevent any leakage of any component of the waste, e.g. a sub micron filtered exhaust that creates a negative pressure within the containment section when it is closed.
In addition to the containment system, the present invention provides an optimal way of treating and disposing of wastes. In one embodiment, the wastes are processed to produce syngas, vitrified glass and metal materials. The syngas, one of the end products of the processing of the waste, may contain carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane and other light hydrocarbons in various concentrations depending on the compositions of the waste and operating parameters of the disposal equipment, and may be utilized as a fuel to operate the disposal equipment, process other wastes or generate electricity for internal use or sale to the power grid.
Another embodiment of the invention provides for the collection and utilization of data relating to the wastes which enhances the safety, efficiency and practice of the waste containment and processing system and method of the invention. One aspect of the data collection process deals with tracking the wastes. From the point the empty containers are delivered to the waste generators, each of the containers is tracked so that selected information about its location, content, waste treatment status, and even the end products acquired from the waste can be readily accessed. The tracking system ensures that each and every waste container is properly received from the generator, transported and timely processed.
Another aspect of the data collection is to compile relevant information about the processed wastes, e.g., the type, source, volume, composition, mass balance and frequency, and to analyze and acquire statistically meaningful trends and correlations that are useful to both the waste generator and processor. The waste processor may, for example, develop an optimal waste-operating recipe based on the specific type and composition of the wastes. In one embodiment, the optimal waste-operating recipe may allow utilizing the waste itself as a fuel for processing the waste disposal system. The waste generator may also use the collected and analyzed data and correlate them with other relevant business parameters to make its operation more efficient and less expensive.
The integrated waste containment and processing system and process of the present invention streamlines the entire process of collecting and processing the wastes, and, in one embodiment, allows for compiling and extrapolating relevant data relating to the wastes that are meaningful and helpful to both the waste generator and processor.
Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one of skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.